Devices, methods, and systems for providing interactivity with digital signs

ABSTRACT

A device, method, and system for providing interactivity with a digital sign includes an interactive digital sign configured to display information in response to interactions by a viewer. The viewer may interact with the digital sign using sensors of the digital sign or via use of a mobile communication device carried by the viewer. User data may be used by the interactive digital sign to select the information, which may include advertisements, coupons, directions, and other information. The information may be transmitted to the viewer&#39;s mobile communication device.

BACKGROUND

Digital signs are used to display information, such as advertisements,notifications, directions, and the like, to people in the near vicinityof the sign. Unlike static billboard signs, the information displayed ona digital sign may be programmed to change over time. For example, adigital sign may be configured to display certain information one dayand different information on a different day. Although the informationdisplayed on typical digital signs may change over time, such changingof information is generally pre-defined or random such that a viewer ofthe digital sign has limited interaction with the information displayed.

Mobile communication devices are becoming ubiquitous tools for personal,business, and social uses. While the primary use for many mobilecommunication devices remains person-to-person communication via voiceor textual technologies, modern mobile communication devices areequipped with increased processing power and data storage capability toallow such devices to perform advanced processing. For example, manymodern communication devices, such as typical “smart phones,” arecapable of executing specialized operating systems and associatedsoftware applications. Additionally, many modern mobile communicationdevices are capable of connecting to various data networks, includingthe Internet, to retrieve and receive data communications over suchnetworks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of example and notby way of limitation in the accompanying figures. For simplicity andclarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Where considered appropriate, referencelabels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding oranalogous elements.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of asystem for providing interactivity with one or more digital signs;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of aninteractive digital sign of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of amobile communication device of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of anenvironment of the interactive digital sign of the system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of anenvironment of the mobile communication device of the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of adisplay of the interactive digital sign of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of adisplay of the interactive digital sign of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of adisplay of the interactive digital sign of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for updating an interactive digital sign that may be executed bythe interactive digital sign of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 10 and 11 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodimentof a method for facilitating interactivity with a digital sign that maybe executed by the interactive digital sign of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for registering and communicating with a digital sign managementserver, which may be executed on the mobile communication device of FIG.3;

FIG. 13 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for interacting with a digital sign that may be executed on themobile communication device of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 14 is a simplified block diagram of at least one other embodimentof a system for providing interactivity with one or more digital signs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof havebeen shown by way of example in the drawings and will be describedherein in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is nointent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure to the particularforms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the presentdisclosure and the appended claims.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an illustrative embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may or may not necessarily includethat particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, suchphrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further,when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure,or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described.

The disclosed embodiments may be implemented, in some cases, inhardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. The disclosedembodiments may also be implemented as instructions carried by or storedon a transitory or non-transitory machine-readable (e.g.,computer-readable) storage medium, which may be read and executed by oneor more processors. A machine-readable storage medium may be embodied asany storage device, mechanism, or other physical structure for storingor transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., avolatile or non-volatile memory, a media disc, or other media device).

In the drawings, some structural or method features may be shown inspecific arrangements and/or orderings. However, it should beappreciated that such specific arrangements and/or orderings may not berequired. Rather, in some embodiments, such features may be arranged ina different manner and/or order than shown in the illustrative figures.Additionally, the inclusion of a structural or method feature in aparticular figure is not meant to imply that such feature is required inall embodiments and, in some embodiments, may not be included or may becombined with other features.

Referring now to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a system 100 for providingdigital sign interactivity includes one or more interactive digitalsigns 102 and one or more mobile communication devices 104, which arecapable of bi-directional wireless communication with each other asdiscussed in more detail below. In use, as discussed in more detailbelow, the interactive digital signs 102 are configured to displayinformation to viewers on one or more associated displays. The displayedinformation may be selected based on the context and interaction of theviewer and/or the mobile communication device 104 carried by the viewer.For example, in some embodiments, each interactive digital sign 102 isconfigured to select information for display based on a physical gestureperformed by a viewer within the vicinity of the digital interactivesign 102 (e.g., a hand waving gesture, a smile gesture, etc.), based ona physical characteristic of the viewer (e.g., gender, estimated age,hair color, etc.), and/or on user data received from the mobilecommunication device 104 or other data sources. Such displayedinformation may include, for example, digital advertisements, digitalcoupons, directions and digital maps, multimedia, computer games, and/orother digital information. In some embodiments, the selected informationmay also be transmitted to the mobile communication device 104 forstorage and use at locations away from the interactive digital sign(e.g., at the store offering the digital coupon).

The interactive digital signs 102 may be embodied as any type of digitalsign for displaying digital information to a viewer and performing thefunctions described herein. Although only two interactive digital signs102 are shown in FIG. 1, it should be appreciated that the system 100may include a single interactive digital sign 102 or multipleinteractive digital signs 102 in other embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2,the illustrative interactive digital signs 102 are embodied as “smartsigns,” and each includes a processor 200, a memory 202, an input/outputsubsystem 204, communication circuit 206, a display 208, and a datastorage device 210. Of course, the interactive digital signs 102 mayinclude other or additional components, such as those commonly found ina digital sign and/or computer (e.g., various input/output devices), inother embodiments. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of theillustrative components may be incorporated in, or otherwise from aportion of, another component. For example, the memory 202, or portionsthereof, may be incorporated in the processor 200 in some embodiments.

The processor 200 may be embodied as any type of processor currentlyknown or developed in the future and capable of performing the functionsdescribed herein. For example, the processor may be embodied as a singleor multi-core processor(s), digital signal processor, microcontroller,or other processor or processing/controlling circuit. Similarly, thememory 202 may be embodied as any type of volatile or non-volatilememory or data storage currently known or developed in the future andcapable of performing the functions described herein. In operation, thememory 202 may store various data and software used during operation ofthe interactive digital sign 102 such as operating systems,applications, programs, libraries, and drivers. The memory 202 iscommunicatively coupled to the processor 200 via the I/O subsystem 204,which may be embodied as circuitry and/or components to facilitateinput/output operations with the processor 200, the memory 202, andother components of the interactive digital sign 102. For example, theI/O subsystem 204 may be embodied as, or otherwise include, memorycontroller hubs, input/output control hubs, firmware devices,communication links (i.e., point-to-point links, bus links, wires,cables, light guides, printed circuit board traces, etc.) and/or othercomponents and subsystems to facilitate the input/output operations. Insome embodiments, the I/O subsystem 204 may form a portion of asystem-on-a-chip (SoC) and be incorporated, along with the processor200, the memory 202, and other components of the interactive digitalsign 102, on a single integrated circuit chip.

The communication circuit 206 of the interactive digital sign 102 may beembodied as any communication circuit, device, or collection thereof,capable of enabling communications between the interactive digital sign102 and the mobile communication device 104 and/or other remote devices.The communication circuit 206 may be configured to use any one or morecommunication technology (e.g., wireless or wired communications) andassociated protocols (e.g., Ethernet, Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, WiMAX, etc.)to effect such communication.

The display 208 of the interactive digital sign 102 may be embodied asany type of display on which information may be displayed to a viewer ofthe interactive digital sign 102. The illustrative display 208 mayinclude one or more individual display screens to display similar ordissimilar information. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6-8, the display208 may be embodied as a collection of display screens 250. Each displayscreen 250 may be embodied as, or otherwise use any suitable displaytechnology including, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), alight emitting diode (LED) display, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, aplasma display, and/or other display technology currently known ordeveloped in the future. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 6, thedisplay screens 250 may be arranged in a geometric pattern to allowmultiple viewers to interact with the interactive digital sign 102 viaone or more of the individual display screens 250. Any type of geometricpattern or design may be used and, in some embodiments, the displayscreens 250 may be arranged in a pattern to resemble another structure,logo, design, character or person, building, vehicle, or other feature.In other embodiments, the plurality of display screens 250 of thedisplay 208 may be arranged in a more organized pattern such as thelarge, multi-screen arrangement illustrated in FIG. 7. Alternatively, insome embodiments as illustrated in FIG. 8, the display screen 250 isembodied as an existing wall, screen, or other structure on whichcontent is displayed via, for example, a projector or other displaydevice. In such embodiments, the size, shape, arrangement, and/orlocation of the individual display screens 250 may change over time orin response to interaction from a user.

As discussed in more detail below, one or a multiple of display screens250 may be used to display content to a viewer. For example, a video maybe displayed across several display screens 250 to generate a largerdisplay format. Additionally, each display screen 250, or collection ofdisplay screens 250, may be temporally allocated to a different viewer.In that way, a single interactive digital sign 102 may facilitateinteraction with multiple viewers. Further, the display screen(s) 250interacted with by a particular viewer may change in response tointeractions of the viewer. For example, with regard to FIG. 6, thedisplay screen 250 allocated to a viewer may change as the viewer walksaround the display structure so as to follow the viewer.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the data storage 128 may be embodied as anytype of device or devices configured for short-term or long-term storageof data such as, for example, memory devices and circuits, memory cards,hard disk drives, solid-state drives, or other data storage devices. Inthe illustrative embodiment, the interactive digital sign 102 maymaintain one or more digital advertisements 220, digital coupons 222,and/or other information 224 in the data storage 210. As discussed inmore detail below, the digital advertisements 220, digital coupons 222,and/or other information 224 may be displayed on the display 208 inresponse to the context of the viewer and/or user data received from themobile communication device 104 or other remote devices. The digitaladvertisements 220, digital coupons 222, and other digital information224 may be embodied as any type of digital data capable of display onthe display 208 and, in some embodiments, transmitted to mobilecommunication device 104. For example, the digital advertisements 220,digital coupons 222, and other digital information 224 may be embodiedas static digital images, video, text, and/or other multi-media data.

The interactive digital signs 102 may also include one or more sensors212. The sensors 212 are configured to generate sensor data indicativeof context data of a viewer of the interactive digital sign 102 such as,for example, the viewer's presence, gender, hair color, height, build,clothes, actions performed by the viewer, and/or other context data. Forexample, in the illustrative embodiment, the sensors 212 may include acamera 230, a microphone 232, a proximity sensor 234, and/or a networkanalyzer 236. The camera 230 may be embodied as any type of digitalcamera capable of producing still or motion pictures from which theinteractive digital sign 102 may determine context data of a viewer(e.g., using edge detection, pattern recognition, or other imageanalysis process). Similarly, the microphone 232 may be embodied as anytype of audio recording device capable of capturing local sounds andproducing audio signals usable by the interactive digital sign 102 todetermine context data of a viewer (e.g., using voice recognition orother audio processing technology). The proximity sensor 234 may beembodied as any type of suitable sensor capable of generating sensordata indicative of the presence and/or motion of a viewer within apre-defined range of the interactive digital sign 102. Additionally, thenetwork analyzer 236 may be embodied any type of circuit, module, ordevice capable of monitoring a network or network activity to determinethe presence of a computer device (e.g., the mobile communication device104) on such network and/or within the vicinity of the interactivedigital sign 102. Of course, it should be appreciated that interactivedigital sign 102 may include additional or other sensors in otherembodiments.

The mobile communication device 104 may be embodied as any type ofmobile communication device capable of performing the functionsdescribed herein including, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computing device, a personal digital assistant, amessaging device, a consumer electronic device, a handset, a laptopcomputer, and/or any other mobile computing/communication device. Theillustrative mobile communication device 104 includes a processor 300, amemory 302, an input/output subsystem 304, a communication circuit 306,and a data storage 310. Those components of the mobile communicationdevice 104 may be similar to the corresponding components of theinteractive digital sign 102, the description of which is applicable tothe corresponding components of the mobile communication device 104 andis not repeated herein for clarity of the description. In theillustrative embodiment, the mobile communication device 104 maymaintain user profile data 320, user preference data 322, and/or usershopping data 324 in the data storage 310, which may be transmitted tothe interactive digital sign 102 during interaction therewith. The userprofile data 320 may be embodied as data that defines personalcharacteristics of the user of the mobile communication device 104 suchas, for example, the user's gender, age, ethnicity, residence address,height, hair color, eye color, clothing or shoe size, and/or otherprofile data. The user preference data may be embodied as any type ofdata that identifies preferences of the user of the mobile communicationdevice 104. Such preferences may be related to the system 100, such asthe user's preferences for interacting with the interactive digitalsigns 102, preferences for receiving digital coupons, languagepreferences, and so forth, and/or commercial preferences of the usersuch as brand or product preferences, historical purchasing data, and/orother commercial preference data. The shopping list data may embodied asany type of data that identifies products or services that the user ofmobile communication device 104 desires to purchase (i.e., a “shoppinglist”). Of course, in other embodiments, the mobile communication device104 may maintain additional or other types of data in the data storage310.

The mobile communication device 104 may also include one or moreperipheral devices 314. For example, in the illustrative embodiment, themobile communication device 104 includes several peripheral input/outputdevices 314 including a display 330, a keypad or keyboard 332, and amicrophone 334. The display 330 may be embodied as any type of displayconfigured for a mobile communication device and capable of displayingdata to the user. Similarly, the keypad 332 may be embodied as any typeof hard or soft keypad or keyboard for use with a mobile communicationdevice. Illustratively, the keypad 332 is incorporated into the mobilecommunication device 104. Similarly, the microphone 334 may also beincorporated into the mobile communication device 104 and be embodied asany type of audio sensor capable of capturing audio data (e.g., speechdata) in the vicinity of the mobile communication device 104.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the system 100 may alsoinclude a digital sign management server 110, which manages the variousdata used by the interactive digital sign 102. The digital signmanagement server 110 may be embodied as any type of data server capableof performing the functions described herein and includes components(e.g., processors, memory devices, etc.) commonly found in such dataservers. The interactive digital signs 102 may communicate, periodicallyor responsively, with the digital sign management server 110 over anetwork 106 to retrieve various data. The network 106 may be embodied asany type of suitable data network including, for example, a wirednetwork, a wireless network, a local area or wide area network, apoint-to-point network, an ad hoc network, and/or other data networkacross which information may be shared between the interactive digitalsigns 102 and the digital sign management server 110.

The digital sign management server 110 may maintain a database ofdigital advertisements 112, digital coupons 114, and/or other digitalinformation (e.g., directions, maps, menus, etc.) from which thecorresponding information stored on the interactive digital sign 102 maybe updated. As such, in use, each interactive digital sign 102 may storeonly a small selection of the available digital advertisements anddigital coupons as discussed above. If the interactive digital sign 102determines that additional or other digital advertisements or digitalcoupons are required (e.g., based on a viewer's context or user datareceived from the mobile communication device 104), the interactivedigital sign 102 may communicate with the digital sign management server110 to receive additional digital advertisements 112, digital coupons114, and/or other digital information.

In some embodiments, the mobile communication device 104 may alsocommunicate, periodically or occasionally, with the digital signmanagement servers 110 over a network 108 to update, or otherwisemaintain, user data on the digital sign management server 110. Similarto the network 106, the network 108 may be embodied any type of wiredand/or wireless data network. In the illustrative embodiment, thenetwork 108 is embodied as a global, publicly-available network such asthe Internet.

The digital sign management server 110 may maintain a database of userdata, which may include user profile data 120 and user preference data122. The user profile data 120 is similar to the user profile data 320,and the user preference data 122 is similar to the user preference data322, stored on the mobile communication device 104. The digital signmanagement server 110 may also maintain sign profile data 124 thatidentifies characteristics of individual interactive digital signs 102such as sign type, sign location, supported features, supportedinteractions, and/or other characteristics of the interactive digitalsigns 102. The mobile communication device 104 may query the digitalsign management server 110 to access such sign profile data 124 todetermined, for example, the location of the nearest interactive digitalsign 102 and its capabilities.

The system 100 may also include one or more advertiser client computers130, which may be embodied as any type of computer or computing devicecapable of performing the functions described herein. The advertiserclient computer 130 is usable by an advertiser to communicate with thedigital sign management server 110 over the network 108 to store and/orupdate the server 110 with digital advertisements 132, digital coupons134, and/or other digital information 136, which may be stored on theadvertiser client computer 130. In this way, new digital advertisements,coupons, and information may be displayed on the interactive digitalsigns 102 and presented to the user.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in one embodiment, the interactive digital sign102 may establish an environment 400 during operation. The illustrativeenvironment 400 includes a viewer context determination module 402, auser interaction module 404, and a communication module 406, each ofwhich may be embodied as software, firmware, hardware, or a combinationthereof. As discussed in more detail below, the viewer contextdetermination module 402 is configured determine the context of a viewerof the interactive digital sign 102 based on the sensor signals receivedfrom the sensors 212. For example, the viewer context determinationmodule 402 may detect the presence of a viewer within a pre-definedrange of the interactive digital sign 102, determine a personalcharacteristic of the viewer (e.g., gender, age, hair color, etc.),determine whether the viewer has performed a pre-defined physicalgesture (e.g., a hand waving gesture), and/or determine other contextparameters about the viewer as a function of the sensor data. Asdiscussed above, the sensor data generated by the sensors 212 may beembodied as any type of data from which the context parameters of theviewer may be determined including, but not limited to, image data,video data, audio data, proximity sensor data, communications data(e.g., data from the communication module 406), and/or other sensordata.

The viewer context determination module 402 provides the generatedcontext parameters to the user interaction module 404, which may selectinformation for display and facilitate interaction with the viewer(and/or the mobile communication device 104 carried by the viewer) basedon the context parameters. The illustrative user interaction module 404includes an advertisement module 410, a coupon module 412, aninformation module 414, a navigation module 416, and a graphics module418, each of which may be embodied as firmware, software, hardware, or acombination thereof. The advertisement module 410 manages the selectionand display of digital advertisements 220 based on the contextparameters of the viewer (e.g., the viewer's presence, a physicalgestures performed by the viewer, etc.) and/or the user data receivedfrom the mobile communication device 104 (e.g., the user's profile orpreference data). Similarly, the coupon module 412 manages the selectionand display of digital coupons 222 based on the context parameters ofthe viewer and/or the user data. The information module 414 manages theselection and display of other digital information 224 based on requestsfor such information received from the user (e.g., voiced orgesture-based requests received from by sensors 212, requests receivedfrom the mobile communication device 104, etc.). The navigation module416 manages the determination and presentation of directions and othernavigational data in response to requests for directions received fromthe viewer. To do so, the navigation module 416 may maintain a suitabledigital map, which may be presented to the user in association withdirections determined by the navigation module 416. The graphics module418 manages the presentation of, and viewer's interaction with,multimedia data on the display 208. In some embodiments, for example,the graphics module 418 may present a digital avatar on the display 208with whom the viewer may interact to receive information. Additionally,as discussed in more detail below, the graphics module 418 may receivemultimedia data from the mobile communication device 104 (e.g., video,graphics, presentations, computer games, digital avatars, etc.) anddisplay or execute the multimedia to allow the viewer to interact withthe transmitted multimedia on the display 208.

The communication module 406 facilitates the bi-directionalcommunication between the interactive digital sign 102 and the mobilecommunication device 104, as well as other remote devices such as thedigital sign management server 110. In the illustrative embodiment, thecommunication module 406 includes a markup language extension 420, whichis usable by the user interaction module 404 to identify parameters oftransmitted and received information. For example, should the mobilecommunication device 104 request information pertaining to thecapabilities of the interactive digital sign 102, the response sent bythe interactive digital sign 102 may include the capabilities identifiedby special header tags of the markup language extension 420 as discussedin more detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the mobile communicationdevice 104 may establish an environment 500 during operation. Theillustrative environment 500 includes a detection module 502, a digitalsign interaction module 504, and a communication module 506, each ofwhich may be embodied as software, firmware, hardware, or a combinationthereof. The detection module 502 is configured to detect the presenceof an interactive digital sign 102 within the vicinity of the mobilecommunication device 104. In some embodiments, the detection module 502may monitor local wireless networks and/or communications received bythe communication module 506 to determine the presence of an interactivedigital sign 102. In this way, the detection module 502 may performautomatic or near-automatic detection of an interactive digital sign102.

The digital sign interaction module 504 facilitates interaction betweenthe mobile communication device 104 and the interactive digital signs102. For example, in some embodiments, the mobile communication device104 may transmit user data, such as the user profile data 320, the userpreference data 322, and/or the shopping data 324 to the interactivedigital sign 102. Additionally, the digital sign interaction module 504may allow the user to interact with the interactive digital sign 102 bysubmitting questions, requests, responses, and/or instructions to theinteractive digital sign 102 as discussed in detail below. The digitalsign interaction module 504 may further receive responses, and otherdata, from the interactive digital sign 102 and display such data on thedisplay 330.

Similar to the communication module 406 of the interactive digital signs102, the communication module 506 facilitates the bi-directionalcommunication between the mobile communication device 104 and theinteractive digital signs 102, as well as other remote devices such asthe digital sign management server 110. In the illustrative embodiment,the communication module 506 includes a markup language extension 520,which is usable by the digital sign interaction module 504 to identifyparameters of transmitted requests and/or other information as discussedin more detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 9, in use, the interactive digital signs 102 mayexecute a method 900 for updating information locally stored on theinteractive digital sign 102 from the digital sign management server110. The method 900 begins with block 902 in which the interactivedigital sign 102 determines whether updates are available from thedigital sign management server 110. To do so, the interactive digitalsign 102 may query, periodically or occasionally, the digital signmanagement server 110 for updates. Additionally or alternatively, thedigital sign management server 110 may notify the interactive digitalsign 102 when updates are available.

If no updates are available, the method 900 loops back to block 902 inwhich the interactive digital sign 102 continues to monitor for updates.However, if interactive digital sign 102 determines that updates areavailable, the interactive digital sign 102 establishes a communicationconnection with the digital sign management server 110 over the network106 in block 904. In some embodiments, such communication connection maybe a secured connection. In block 906, the interactive digital sign 102may transmit a digital sign identifier and/or location information thatidentifies the location of the digital sign 102 and/or other informationusable by the digital sign management server 110 to identify theupdate-requesting interactive digital sign 102.

Subsequently, in block 908, the interactive digital sign 102 receivesupdated data from the digital sign management server 110, which issubsequently stored in the local data storage 210 of the interactivedigital sign 102 in block 918. For example, the interactive digital sign102 may receive new or updated digital advertisements in block 910, newor updated digital coupons in block 912, and/or new or updatedadditional digital information in block 914 from the digital signmanagement server 110. Additionally, in some embodiments, theinteractive digital sign 102 may locally store and maintain user profileand preference data. In such embodiments, the interactive digital sign102 may receive new or updated user profile and/or preference data inblock 916. After any received updated data is locally stored in block918, the method 900 loops back to block 902 in which the interactivedigital sign 102 continues to monitor for updates.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, in use, the interactive digital signs102 may also execute a method 1000 for facilitating interactivity withthe digital sign 102. The method 1000 begins with block 1002 in whichthe interactive digital sign 102 displays random and/or pre-defineddigital information on the display 208. The random/pre-defined digitalinformation displayed in block 1002 may be embodied as any type ofdigital information, such as digital advertisements and/or information,which may also change periodically. In block 1004, the interactivedigital sign 102 monitors for the presence of a viewer within thevicinity of the digital sign 102. To do so, in block 1006, theinteractive digital sign 102 receives sensor data from the sensors 212and determines viewer context data from such sensor data in block 1008.The context data of any present viewer may include any type of data thatidentifies a context parameter of the viewer. For example, theinteractive digital sign 102 may analyze the images generated by thecamera 230, using a suitable facial recognition, pattern recognition,edge detection, or other image analysis process, to determine physicalcharacteristics of the viewer (e.g., the presence of the viewer, gender,age, height, weight, hair color, and/or other physical characteristic)and/or non-physical characteristics of the viewer (e.g., the viewer'smood, emotional state, reactions, body language interpretation, level ofinterest, and/or other emotional or non-physical characteristic).Additionally, the interactive digital sign 102 may analyze the audiodata generated by the microphone 232 to determine physicalcharacteristics (e.g., the viewers age, gender, nationality, location,etc.) and non-physical characteristics (e.g., the viewer's mood,emotional state, level of interest, etc.).

In block 1010, the interactive digital sign 102 determines whether aviewer is present based on, at least a portion of, the determinedcontext data. For example, the interactive digital sign 102 maydetermine the presence of the viewer within a pre-defined range based onsensor data received from the camera 230 (e.g., whether a viewer ispresent in the digital image generated by the camera), from themicrophone 232 (i.e., whether a viewer is speaking), from the proximitysensor 234 (e.g., whether a viewer is moving), and/or from the networkanalyzer 236 (e.g., whether a viewer is operating the mobilecommunication device 104). In this way, a viewer may approach theinteractive digital sign 102 (or one of the display screens 250) andautomatically be detected and interacted with by the interactive digitalsign 102.

If no viewer is determined to be present in block 1012, the method 1000loops back to block 1002 in which the interactive digital sign 102 againdisplays random or pre-defined digital information. However, if a vieweris determined to be present in block 1012, the method 1000 advances toblock 1014 in which the interactive digital sign 102 retrieves digitalinformation for display on the display 208 as a function of thedetermined context parameters of the viewer. To do so, in block 1016,the interactive digital sign 102 determines which display screen 250, orselection of display screens 250, to allocate for use with the newlydetected viewer. The interactive digital sign 102 may select the displayscreen(s) 250 based on, for example, the context data of the viewer. Forexample, the interactive digital sign 102 may select the display screen250 determined to be closest to the viewer, at eye-level with theviewer, or based on other context data of the viewer. As discussed abovewith regard to FIGS. 6-9, the digital interactive sign 102 may selectmultiple display screens 250 for use with displaying content informationto the detected viewer. Such selection of display screen(s) 250 maychange based on the interaction of the viewer. For example, if theviewer works around the interactive digital sign 102, the display screen250 used to display content to the viewer may change so as to follow theviewer about the digital interactive sign 102. Additionally, in someembodiments, the viewer may select the one or more display screens 250with which to interact.

After the display screen(s) has been determined or selected, theinteractive digital sign 102 may retrieve and display one or moredigital advertisements 220 in block 1018, retrieve and display one ormore digital coupons 222 in block 1020, and/or retrieve and displayadditional digital information 224 in block 1022. The interactivedigital sign 102 may retrieve the selected information from the localdata storage 210 and/or from the digital sign management server 110based on any suitable context parameter. For example, in someembodiments, the interactive digital sign 102 may select the informationto be retrieved based on a physical gesture performed by the viewer(e.g., a hand waving gesture), a physical characteristic of the viewer(e.g., gender, age, hair color, etc.), or other context parameterassociated with the viewer and determinable based on the sensor datagenerated by the sensors 212.

After the selected digital information has been displayed on the display208 in block 1014, the method 1000 loops back to block 1004 to continuemonitoring for the presence of the viewer. Additionally, the method 1000may advance to block 1024 in which the interactive digital sign 102contemporaneously monitors for the presence of a local mobilecommunication device 104 (e.g., the device 104 of the viewer). To do so,the interactive digital sign 102 may periodically broadcast a query,notification, or other communication ping and determine the presence ofa local mobile communication device 104 based on a response to suchbroadcast communication. Additionally or alternatively, the interactivedigital sign 102 may monitor a wireless communication network on whichthe interactive digital sign 102 is located for the presence of a localmobile communication device 104. If no local mobile communication device104 is detected in block 1026, the method 1000 loops back to block 1004to continue monitoring for the presence of the viewer. However, if alocal mobile communication device 104 is detected, the method 1000advances to block 1028 in which the interactive digital sign 102establishes a bi-directional wireless communication link with thediscovered mobile communication device 104. Such bi-directional wirelesscommunication link may be embodied as an ad-hoc communication link, apoint-to-point communication link, a communication network link, and/orother wireless communication link that facilitates bi-directionalcommunication between the interactive digital sign 102 and thediscovered mobile communication device 104.

After the wireless communication link is established in block 1028, themethod 1000 advances to block 1030 (see FIG. 11) in which theinteractive digital sign 102 may request user data from the mobilecommunication device 104. The user data may be embodied as any type ofdata stored on the mobile communication device 104 and usable by theinteractive digital sign 102 to select personalized digital information(e.g., digital advertisements, coupons, etc.) for display. In theillustrative embodiment, the interactive digital sign 102 may receiveuser profile data in block 1032, user preference data in block 1034,and/or shopping list data in block 1036. As discussed above, the userprofile data may be embodied as data that defines personalcharacteristics of the viewer, the user preference data may be as anytype of data that identifies preferences of the viewer, and the shoppinglist data may embodied as any type of data that identifies products orservices that the viewer desires to purchase. Of course, additional orother user data may be received by the interactive digital sign 102 inblock 1030 in other embodiments.

In block 1038, the interactive digital sign 102 determines whether tointeract with the mobile communication device 104. In some embodiments,the interactive digital sign 102 may be configured to interact with allmobile communication devices 104 or with only selected mobilecommunication device 104. Additionally or alternatively, the interactivedigital sign 102 may interact only upon receiving an initial request orcommunication from the mobile communication device 104. If theinteractive digital sign 102 determines that no interaction is to occur,the method 100 loops back to block 1024 (see FIG. 10) in which theinteractive digital sign 102 continues to monitor for local mobilecommunication devices.

If, however, the interactive digital sign 102 determines to allowinteraction with the mobile communication device 104, the method 1000advances to block 1040 in which the interactive digital sign 102interacts with the mobile communication device 104 over thebi-directional communication link. For example, in block 1042, theinteractive digital sign 102 updates the selected display screen(s) 250based on the viewer's interaction, user data, and/or context data. Thatis, the interactive digital sign 102 may change which display screen(s)250 are allocated for displaying content to the particular viewer and/orchange the number of display screens 250 used to display content to theparticular viewer. Such selection may be in response to any interactionor data related to the particular viewer. For example, the interactivedigital sign 102 may change the selection and/or number of displayscreens 250 based on the location or movement of the viewer, based on aselection made by the viewer, based the size or type of content selectedfor display to the user (e.g., a selected advertisement may requiremultiple display screens 250 to properly display), based on the size ortype of content received from the viewer for display, and/or on otherinteractions, user data, or context data of the user.

In block 1044, the interactive digital sign 102 may select and displayone or more digital advertisement 220 on the display 208 based on theuser data received in block 1030 and/or the viewer context determined inblock 1008. For example, the interactive digital sign 102 may select anadvertisement based on the user's profile (e.g., the viewer may bedetermined to be a young male) and the user's preferences (e.g., theviewer may like rock music). Additionally, in block 1046, theinteractive digital sign 102 may select one or more digital couponsbased on the user data (e.g., the user's shopping data) and/or viewercontext and transmit the selected digital coupon to the mobilecommunication device 104. In some embodiments, the interactive digitalsign 102 may encrypt the digital coupon for security or privacy purposesand transmit the encrypted digital coupon to the mobile communicationdevice 104, which may subsequently decrypt the encrypted digital coupon.In such embodiments, the encrypted digital coupon may be usable only bythe designated person (e.g., only usable on the specific mobilecommunication device 104) and/or be non-transferable to a third party.As discussed in more detail below, the viewer may utilize the digitalcoupon received on the mobile communication device 104 to aid inpurchases made at a store remote from the interactive digital sign 102.

The interactive digital sign 102 may further receive and respond to arequest for directions in block 1048. For example, in some embodiments,the interactive digital sign 102 may display a digital map, along withdirections, on the display 208 in response to a user's request fordirections to a particular destination and/or in response to other datareceived form the user (e.g., the shopping data). In some embodiments,the interactive digital sign may also transmit the digital map and/ordirections to the mobile communication device 104 in block 1048 suchthat the viewer may review the directions while traveling to thedestination. The interactive digital sign 102 may also receive andrespond to requests for other digital information in block 1050. Suchother digital information may be embodied as any type of digitalinformation displayable on the display 208 and/or transmittable to themobile communication device 104. For example, the additional digitalinformation may include information related to the capabilities of theinteractive digital sign 102, information related to the location of theinteractive digital sign 102, information related to events occurring atlocations near the interactive digital sign 102, information related tostores associated with a digital coupon, and/or other information.

In some embodiments, the interactive digital sign 102 may be configuredto receive multimedia data from the mobile communication device 104 anddisplay the multimedia data on the digital sign 102 in block 1052. Suchmultimedia data may be embodied as any type of multimedia dataincluding, but not limited to, digital video, digital pictures,presentations, and/or other graphics. In this way, a viewer of theinteractive digital sign 102 may utilize the display 208 as a remotedisplay device for the mobile communication device 104. Additionally, insome embodiments, the interactive digital sign 102 may select a digitalavatar or character for display on the display 208 and disseminateinformation to the viewer using the digital avatar in block 1054. Forexample, the digital avatar may interact with the viewer using spokenaudio and be responsive to physical gestures performed by the viewerand/or user data transmitted to the interactive digital sign 102 by theviewer. In some embodiments, the digital avatar may be transmitted tothe interactive digital sign 102 from the mobile communication device104. Further, in some embodiments, the interactive digital sign 102 maybe configured to execute a computer game to allow the viewer to play thecomputer game using the display 208 in block 1056. The executed computergame may be stored on the interactive digital sign 102 or be transmittedthereto from the mobile communication device 104 in block 1056. In thisway and unlike a static digital display, the interactive digital sign102 facilitates interaction with the viewer and the mobile communicationdevice 104.

In some embodiments, the interactive digital sign 102 may update theuser data in block 1058 after the viewer has completed interaction withthe interactive digital sign 102. For example, the user preference datamay be updated based on such interactions (e.g., which digital couponsdid the viewer accept, which digital advertisements were of interest tothe viewer, etc.). Additionally, in some embodiments, the updated userdata may be transmitted to the digital sign management server 110 forstorage in block 1060. After the user data has been updated in block1058, the method 1000 loops back to block 1024 to continue monitoringfor the presence of local mobile communication devices 104 and to block1004 to continue to monitor for the presence of new viewers.

Referring now to FIG. 12, in use, the mobile communication device 104may execute a method 1200 for registering and communicating with thedigital sign management server 110. Although the method 1200 isdescribed below as registering the user of the mobile communicationdevice 104 with the digital sign management server 110, suchregistration method may be used with individual interactive digital sign102 in those embodiments in which the interactive digital signs 102maintain local user data without assistance of a digital sign managementserver 110.

The method 1200 begins with block 1202 in which the mobile communicationdevice 104 determines whether to register or update user data. If so,the method 1200 advances to block 1204 in which the mobile communicationdevice 104 establishes a communication connection with the digital signmanagement server 110 (or directly with an interactive digital sign102). Such communication connection may be embodied as a securecommunication connection in some embodiments. In block 1206, the mobilecommunication device 104 transmits the user profile data 320 and/or userpreference data 322 (see FIG. 3) to the digital sign management server110 (or directly with an interactive digital sign 102), which stores theupdated or new user data in the data storage 210. In some embodiments,the mobile communication device 104 may also transmit shopping data 324to the digital sign management server 110 (or directly with aninteractive digital sign 102) in block 1208.

After the user of the mobile communication device 104 has registeredwith the digital sign management server 110, the method 1200 advances toblock 1210 in which the mobile communication device 104 determineswhether the user has requested digital sign profile information. Thedigital sign profile information may identify characteristics of theinteractive digital signs 102 such as the location of the nearestinteractive digital sign 102, the capabilities of the interactivedigital signs 102, the digital coupons available from the interactivedigital signs, and other sign characteristic data. Additionally, thedigital sign profile information may include data related to the user'sdigital sign account such as the number of award points obtained, thenumber of digital coupons used, and other account information.

In some embodiments, the mobile communication device 104 may determine acurrent location of the device 104 (e.g., using a global positioningsystem circuit or other location determination circuit or module) inblock 1212. Alternatively, the user may supply the current location orother location of interest, which may be used to determine nearbyinteractive digital signs 102. In block 1214, the mobile communicationdevice 104 may obtain and/or request additional interactive digital signcriteria. Such criteria may include any data usable to identify digitalsign profile information including, for example, the identityinformation of the user (e.g., an e-mail address), digital signpreferences of the user (e.g., full-featured signs, interactive sighs,etc.), digital sign capability preferences (e.g., digital coupons),and/or other digital sign criteria.

In block 1216, the mobile communication device 104 transmits a requestfor digital sign profile information using the determined currentlocation and/or additional interactive digital sign criteria. In theillustrative embodiment, the request is transmitted using the markuplanguage extension 520 (see FIG. 5), which identifies the individualrequest parameters. For example, the request may include a header tagthat identifies the user's location or desired location (e.g.,“MyLocation: GPS: xx.xx.xx.xx Address: xxx.xxx.xxx”), a header tag thatidentifies the user's digital sign preferences (e.g., “My Preferences:xxx”), a header tag that identifies the user's account or otheridentification data (e.g., “MyShoppingID: xxxx”), and/or other headertags that identify individual parameters of the request.

In block 1218, the mobile communication device 104 receives therequested interactive digital sign profile information from the digitalsign management server 110 (or directly from the interactive digitalsign 102 as discussed above). In some embodiments, the response istransmitted using a mark-up language extension (e.g., markup languageextension 420 of FIG. 4) to identify individual parameters of therequested information. For example, the response may include a headertag that confirms the location of the user or the desired location(e.g., “GPS-Check: xxx”, “Address-Check: xxx”), a header tag thatidentifies the location of nearby interactive digital signs 102 (e.g.,“Closest Signs: xxx”), a header tag that identifies award points and/orinformation related to digital coupons such as which stores accept thedigital coupons (e.g., “Coupons-and-points: xxx”), a header tag thatidentifies an answer or other data related to a previous question orrequest (e.g., “Information: xxx”), and/or other header tags thatidentify individual parameters of the response.

In block 1220, the mobile communication device 104 extracts the digitalsign profile information from the response using the head tags of themark-up language extension. The extracted information may besubsequently displayed to the user of the mobile communication device104 in block 1222 and/or stored for later use. In this way, the user mayquery the digital sign management server 110 and/or individualinteractive digital signs 102 for obtain digital sign profile data tohelp the user locate digital signs 102 of interest and/or monitor theirinteraction and accounts.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the mobile communication device 104 may alsoexecute a method 1300 for interacting with one or more interactivedigital signs 102. The method 1300 begins with block 1302 in which themobile communication device 104 monitors for local interactive digitalsigns 102. To do so, the mobile communication device 104 may monitor fora query, notification, or other communication ping or heartbeat signalreceived directly from an interactive digital sign 102. Additionally oralternatively, the mobile communication device 104 may search for awireless communication network associated with the interactive digitalsign 102 and determine the presence of the interactive digital sign 102based on the existence of such wireless network. In this way, the mobilecommunication device 104 may actively monitor for nearby interactivedigital signs 102 with minimal or no direct interaction from the user ofthe mobile communication device 104. As such, the user of the mobilecommunication device 104 may simply approach the interactive digitalsign 102 to initiate interaction therewith.

If no local interactive digital sign 102 is detected in block 1304, themethod 1300 loops back to block 1302 to continue monitoring for nearbyinteractive digital signs 102. However, if an interactive digital sign102 is detected by the mobile communication device 104 in block 1304,the method 1300 advances to block 1306. In block 1306, the mobilecommunication device 104 establishes a bi-directional wirelesscommunication link with the detected interactive digital sign 102. Asdiscussed above with regard to block 1028 of method 1000, thebi-directional wireless communication link may be embodied as an ad-hoccommunication link, a point-to-point communication link, a communicationnetwork link, and/or other wireless communication link that facilitatesbi-directional communication between the mobile communication device 104and the interactive digital sign 102.

After a wireless communication link has been established with theinteractive digital sign 102 in block 1306, the mobile communicationdevice 104 determines whether a request for the user data stored locallyon the mobile communication device 104 has been received from thedetected interactive digital sign 102 in block 1308. If so, the method1300 advances to block 1310 in which the mobile communication device 104retrieves the requested user data from the data storage 310 (see FIG. 3)and transmits the user data to the requesting interactive digital sign102. As discussed above, the user data may include user profile data320, user preference data 322, and/or shopping data 324. In someembodiments, the mobile communication device 104 may transmit the userdata using the markup language extension 520 (see FIG. 5). For example,the response to the request for user data may include a header tag thatidentifies the user profile data 320, a header tag that identifies theuser preference data 322, and/or a header tag that identifies theshopping data 324. Of course, additional or other mark-up language datatags may be used in other embodiments to identify the individualparameters of the user data.

After the mobile communication device 104 has transmitted the requesteduser data, or if no user data was requested in block 1308, the method1300 advances to block 1312. In block 1312, the mobile communicationdevice 104 determines whether interaction with the interactive digitalsign 102 is desired. In some embodiments, the mobile communicationdevice 104 may be configured to interact automatically with theinteractive digital sign 102 or to interact with the interactive digitalsign 102 only upon instructions from the user.

If no interaction with the interactive digital sign 102 is desired orrequired, the method 1300 loops back to block 1302 to continue tomonitor for nearby interactive digital signs 102. However, ifinteractive with the interactive digital sign 102 is desired, the method1300 advances to block 1314 wherein the mobile communication device 104(and the user thereof) bi-directionally interacts with the interactivedigital sign 102. As discussed above, the interactions between the userof mobile communication device 104 and the interactive digital sign 102may be embodied as one or more different types of interactions, whichmay occur sequentially or contemporaneously with each other. Forexample, in block 1316, the user may view digital advertisementspresented on the display 208 of the interactive digital sign 102 inresponse to the transmitted user data. The mobile communication device104 may also receive one or more digital advertisements from theinteractive digital sign 102 in block 1316, which may be stored and/ordisplayed on the mobile communication device 104. Similarly, in block1318, the user may view digital coupons presented on the display 208 ofthe interactive digital sign 102 and/or receive one or more digitalcoupons from the interactive digital sign 102, which may be storedand/or displayed on the mobile communication device 104. As discussedabove, in some embodiments, the digital coupons may be encrypted by theinteractive digital sign 102. If so, the mobile communication device 104may decrypt the encrypted digital coupon in block 1318. Alternatively,the mobile communication device 104 may store the digital coupon in itsencrypted state until the digital coupon is used wherein the encrypteddigital coupon is decrypted at the time of use.

In some embodiments, the user may operate the mobile communicationdevice 104 to submit textual, audible, and/or graphical requests to theinteractive digital sign 102 in block 1320. For example, the user maytext a request for information to the interactive digital sign 102.Additionally, the user may speak into the microphone 234 of theinteractive digital sign 102 to submit the request or speak into themicrophone 334 of the mobile communication device 104, which relays therequest to the interactive digital sign 102 via the bi-directionalcommunication link. If the user submits a request for directions, forexample, the user may view the directions, and any associated digitalmap, displayed on the display 208 of the interactive digital sign 102 inblock 1322. Additionally, in some embodiments, the interactive digitalsign 102 may transmit the directions and/or digital map to the mobilecommunication device 104, which is received in block 1322. The user maythen utilize the received directions and/or map to navigate to a desiredlocation. Additionally, if the user submits a request for otherinformation (e.g., information regarding local stores), the user mayview the additional digital information displayed by the interactivedigital sign 102 in block 1324. Again, in some embodiments, theinteractive digital sign 102 may also transmit the requested digitalinformation to the mobile communication device 104 in block 1324.

In some embodiments, the user may utilize the display 208 of theinteractive digital sign 102 as a remote display. For example, in block1326, the mobile communication device 104 may transmit digital graphicsand/or other multimedia data to the interactive digital sign 102 fordisplay or execution thereby. Such multimedia data may be embodied as,for example, digital video, digital pictures, static graphics, charts,presentations, textual data, audio recordings, music, sounds, and/orother multimedia data that may be displayed and/or executed by theinteractive digital sign 102. For example, in some embodiments, themobile communication device 104 may transmit a digital avatar to theinteractive digital sign 102 in block 1328, which is subsequentlydisplayed by the interactive digital sign 102. The user may interactwith the digital avatar to request information and/or perform otherinteractions with the interactive digital sign 102. In this way, theuser may utilize a personalized avatar or character. Additionally, insome embodiments, the user may interact with the interactive digitalsign 102 by playing a computer game. In such embodiments, for example,the mobile communication device 104 may transmit the computer game tothe interactive digital sign 102 (or request a computer game stored onthe interactive digital sign 102) in block 1330. In response, theinteractive digital sign 102 may execute the computer game andfacilitate the user's game play using the display 208 and, in someembodiments, the user's mobile communication device 104 as a controlleror the like. After the user has interacted with the interactive digitalsign 102, the method 1300 loops back to block 1312 in which the mobilecommunication device 104 determines whether to continue interaction withthe digital sign 102. In this way, the user may operate the mobilecommunication device 104 to interact with the interactive digital sign102 to receive and disseminate information as discussed above.

Referring now to FIG. 14, although the interactive digital signs 102have been described above as “smart signs” capable of determininginformation for display based on the viewer's context and user datareceived from the viewer's mobile communication device 104, theinteractive digital signs 102 may be embodied as simple interactivedigital sign displays 1402 in other embodiments. In such embodiments,the determination of which information to be displayed and theprocessing of interactions from the viewer and/or the mobilecommunication device 104 are offloaded to a local interactive digitalsign management server 1406, which communicates with the interactivedigital sign displays 1402 over a local wireless network 1408. Forexample, the local interactive digital sign management server 1406 mayinclude the user interaction module 404, rather than each interactivedigital sign display 1402, and select which information (e.g., digitaladvertisement, digital coupon, or other digital information) should bedisplayed by each interactive digital sign display 1402. Additionally,the mobile communication device 104 may communicate with the localinteractive digital sign management server 1406 to interact with thedigital sign displays 1402, rather than the displays 1402 directly. Insuch embodiments, a single local interactive digital sign managementserver 1406 may control one, two, or more interactive digital signdisplays.

EXAMPLES

Illustrative examples of the devices, systems, and methods disclosedherein are provided below. An embodiment of the devices, systems, andmethods may include any one or more, and any combination of, theexamples described below.

Example 1 includes an interactive digital sign for providing informationto a viewer. The interactive digital sign includes a display, a sensorto generate sensor data indicative of context parameters of the viewer;a viewer context determination module to detect the presence of theviewer within a pre-defined range of the display as a function of thesensor data, and a user interaction module to select information to bedisplayed on the display as a function of (i) the presence of the viewerand (ii) at least one additional context parameter of the viewer and todisplay the selected information of the display.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the sensoris embodied as one of a camera, a microphone, a proximity sensor, or acommunication circuit.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 or 2,wherein the sensor comprises a camera and the user interaction module isto (i) identify at least one physical gesture performed by the viewerbased on the sensor data and (ii) select information to be displayed onthe display as a function of the presence of the viewer and the at leastone of: a physical gesture performed by the viewer, a facial emotiondisplayed by the viewer, body language displayed by the viewer,demographic information related to the viewer, clothing worn by theviewer, and the gender of the viewer.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3, andwherein the at least one additional context parameter comprises at leastone of: a physical characteristic of the viewer, voice data supplied bythe viewer, and text data supplied by the viewer.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-4, andwherein the information selected by the user interaction modulecomprises at least one of: an advertisement, a digital coupon, and adigital map.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-5, andfurther includes a wireless communication module, and wherein the viewercontext determination module is to detect the presence of a mobilecommunication device carried by the viewer and the wirelesscommunication module is to establish a communication link with themobile communication device in response to detecting the presence of themobile communication device.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-6, andwherein the user interaction module is to receive, using thecommunication module, user data transmitted by the mobile computingdevice, the user data comprising at least one of: user profile datadefining personal characteristics of a user of the mobile computingdevice, user preference data indicative of preferences of a user of themobile computing device, and shopping list data identifying a shoppinglist of purchasable items.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-7, andwherein the user interaction module is to (i) select at least one of adigital advertisement and a digital coupon to be displayed on thedisplay as a function of the user data and (ii) display the selectedadvertisement and/or digital coupon on the display.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-8, andwherein the user interaction module is to transmit the selected digitaladvertisement and/or digital coupon to the mobile communication device.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-9, andwherein the user interaction module is to receive a request forinformation from the mobile communication device and transmit, inresponse to the request and using the communication module, informationto the mobile communication device using a markup-up language extensionto identify parameters of the information.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-10, andwherein the transmitted information includes at least one of a mark-uplanguage tag that identifies a location of the interactive digital sign,a mark-up language tag that identifies information related to a digitalcoupon, and a mark-up language tag that identifies an answer to therequest.

Example 12 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-11, andwherein the user interaction module is to receive, using thecommunication module, a request for directions from the mobile computingdevice and display, in response to the request, directions on thedisplay.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-12, andwherein the user interaction module is to receive, using thecommunication module, multimedia data from the mobile communicationdevice and to display the multimedia data on the display of theinteractive digital sign.

Example 14 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-13, andwherein the multimedia data comprises at least one of: a digitalpicture, a digital movie, a graphical representation, text data, andaudio data.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-14, andwherein the multimedia comprises a digital avatar and the userinteraction module is to respond to interactions from the viewer usingthe digital avatar.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-15, andwherein the user interaction module is to receive, using thecommunication module, a request for a computer game and to execute acomputer game using the display to facilitate game play with the viewer.

Example 17 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-16, andwherein the display comprises a plurality of display screens, and theuser interaction module is to allocate a first subset of display screensand display the selected information to the viewer on the allocatedfirst subset of display screens.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-17, andwherein the user interaction module is to allocate a second subset ofdisplay screens to another viewer and display additional information tothe another viewer on the second subset of display screens.

Example 19 includes a mobile communication device for interacting withan interactive digital sign, the mobile communication device comprisinga detection module to detect the presence of an interactive digital signwithin a pre-defined range of the mobile communication device; acommunication module to establish a wireless communication link with thedigital interactive sign in response to detection of the presence of theinteractive digital sign; and a digital sign interaction module toreceive a request for user data from the interactive digital sign,transmit user data to the interactive digital sign using a mark-uplanguage extension to identify parameters of the user data, and interactwith the digital sign over the wireless communication link to cause thedigital interactive sign to display information in response to theinteraction.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of Example 19, wherein the userdata comprises at least one of: user profile data defining personalcharacteristics of a user of the mobile communication device, userpreference data indicative of preferences of a user of the mobilecommunication device, and shopping list data identifying a shopping listof purchasable items.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 19 or 20,and wherein the user data comprises at least one of: a mark-up languagetag that identifies a location of the mobile communication device, amark-up language tag that identifies user preference data indicative ofpreferences of the user of the mobile communication device, a mark-uplanguage tag that identifies identification data usable to identify theuser of the mobile communication device, and a mark-up language tag thatidentifies a shopping list of the user of the mobile communicationdevice.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 19-21, andwherein the user data comprises user preference data that identifies atleast one of: the user's preference for digital coupons, a type ofinteractive digital sign preferred by the user, and a brand preferenceof the user.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 19-22, andwherein the digital sign interaction module is to (i) receive sign datafrom the interactive digital sign as a function of the user data, thesign data comprising at least one of: a digital advertisement, a digitalcoupon, and a digital map, and (ii) display the sign data on the mobilecommunication device.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 19-23, andwherein the digital sign interaction module is to transmit multimediadata to the interactive digital sign configured for display by theinteractive digital sign.

Example 25 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 19-24, andwherein the multimedia data comprises at least one of: a digitalpicture, a digital movie, a graphical representation, text data, andaudio data.

Example 26 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 19-25, andwherein the multimedia comprises a digital avatar and the interactionmodule is to interact with the digital interactive sign over thecommunication link to cause the digital avatar to perform at least oneaction.

Example 27 includes a method for providing interactivity on a digitalsign, the method comprising receiving, on the interactive digital sign,sensor data from at least one sensor of the interactive digital sign,the sensor data indicative of context parameters of a viewer of theinteractive digital sign; detecting the presence of the viewer within apre-defined range of a display of the interactive digital sign as afunction of the sensor data; selecting information to be displayed onthe interactive digital sign as a function of the presence of the viewerand at least one additional context parameter of the viewer; anddisplaying the selected information on the display of the interactivedigital sign in view of the viewer.

Example 28 includes the subject matter of Example 27, and whereinreceiving sensor data comprises at least on of: receiving data from acamera of the interactive digital sign, receiving data from a microphoneof the interactive digital sign, receiving data from a proximity sensorof the interactive digital sign, and receiving data from a communicationcircuit of the interactive digital sign.

Example 29 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27 or 28,and wherein selecting information to be displayed on the interactivedigital sign comprises selecting information to be displayed as afunction of the presence of the viewer and at least one of: a physicalcharacteristic of the viewer determined based on an analysis of imagedata of the viewer received from a camera of the interactive digitalsign, a physical characteristic of the viewer determined based onanalysis of voice data supplied by the viewer and received from amicrophone of the interactive digital sign, and text data supplied bythe viewer.

Example 30 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-29, andfurther includes identifying at least one physical gesture performed bythe viewer, and wherein selecting information to be displayed on theinteractive digital sign comprises selecting information to be displayedas a function of the presence of the viewer and the at least onephysical gesture performed by the viewer.

Example 31 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-30, andwherein selecting information to be displayed on the interactive digitalsign comprises selecting at least one of: a digital advertisement, adigital coupon, and a digital map.

Example 32 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-31, andfurther includes detecting the presence of a mobile communication devicecarried by the viewer; and establishing a communication link with themobile communication device in response to detecting the presence of themobile communication device.

Example 33 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-32, andfurther includes receiving user data from the mobile communicationdevice, the user data comprising at least one of: user profile datadefining personal characteristics of a user of the mobile communicationdevice, user preference data indicative of preferences of a user of themobile communication device, and shopping list data identifying ashopping list of purchasable items.

Example 34 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-33, andfurther includes selecting at least one of a digital advertisement and adigital coupon to be displayed on the interactive digital sign as afunction of the user data; and displaying the selected digitaladvertisement and/or digital coupon on the display of the interactivedigital sign.

Example 35 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-34,includes transmitting the selected digital advertisement and/or digitalcoupon to the mobile communication device.

Example 36 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-35, andfurther includes receiving a request for information from the mobilecommunication device; and transmitting, in response to the request, theinformation to the mobile communication device over the communicationlink and using a markup-up language extension to identify parameters ofthe information.

Example 37 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-36, andwherein transmitting the information comprises transmitting informationincluding at least one of: a mark-up language tag that identifies alocation of the interactive digital sign, a mark-up language tag thatidentifies information related to a digital coupon, and a mark-uplanguage tag that identifies an answer to the request.

Example 38 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-37, andfurther includes receiving a request for directions from the mobilecommunication device; and displaying, in response to the request,directions on the display of the interactive digital sign.

Example 39 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-38, andfurther includes receiving multimedia data from the mobile communicationdevice; and displaying the multimedia data on the display of theinteractive digital sign.

Example 40 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-39, andwherein the multimedia data comprises at least one of: a digitalpicture, a digital movie, a graphical representation, text data, andaudio data.

Example 41 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-40, andwherein the multimedia comprises a digital avatar and further comprisingresponding to interactions from the viewer using the digital avatar.

Example 42 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-41, andfurther includes receiving, from the mobile communication device, arequest for a computer game; and executing a computer game on theinteractive digital sign using the display to facilitate game play withthe viewer.

Example 43 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-42, andfurther includes selecting a first subset of display screens from aplurality of display screens for displaying content to the viewer, andwherein displaying the selected information comprises displaying theselected information to the viewer on the first subset of displayscreens.

Example 44 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 27-43, andfurther includes selecting a second subset of display screens from theplurality of display screens for displaying content to another viewer;and displaying additional information to the anther viewer on the secondsubset of display screens.

Example 45 includes an interactive digital sign comprising a processor;and a memory having stored therein a plurality of instructions that, inresponse to being executed by the processor, results in the processorperforming the method of any one of Examples 27-44.

Example 46 includes one or more machine readable media comprising aplurality of instructions stored thereon that in response to beingexecuted result in an interactive digital sign performing any one ofExamples 27-45.

Example 47 includes a method for interacting with a digital sign using amobile communication device, the method comprising detecting, on themobile communication device, the presence of an interactive digital signwithin a pre-defined range of the mobile communication device;establishing, in response to detecting the presence of the interactivedigital sign, a wireless communication link with the digital interactivesign; receiving a request for user data from the interactive digitalsign; transmitting user data from the mobile communication device to theinteractive digital sign using a mark-up language extension to identifyparameters of the user data; and interacting with the digitalinteractive sign over the wireless communication link to cause thedigital interactive sign to display information in response to theinteraction.

Example 48 includes the subject matter of Example 47, and whereintransmitting user data comprises transmitting at least one of: userprofile data defining personal characteristics of a user of the mobilecommunication device, user preference data indicative of preferences ofa user of the mobile communication device, and shopping list dataidentifying a shopping list of purchasable items.

Example 49 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 47 or 48,and wherein transmitting user data using the mark-up language extensioncomprises transmitting user data including at least one of: a mark-uplanguage tag that identifies a location of the mobile communicationdevice, a mark-up language tag that identifies user preference dataindicative of preferences of the user of the mobile communicationdevice, a mark-up language tag that identifies identification datausable to identify the user of the mobile communication device, and amark-up language tag that identifies a shopping list of the user of themobile communication device.

Example 50 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 47-49, andwherein the user data comprises user preference data that identifies atleast one of: the user's preference for digital coupons, a type ofinteractive digital sign preferred by the user, and a brand preferenceof the user.

Example 51 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 47-50, andwherein interacting with the digital interactive sign comprisesreceiving, on the mobile communication device, at least one of: adigital advertisement, a digital coupon, and a digital map transmittedby the interactive digital sign as a function of the user data.

Example 52 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 47-51, andwherein interacting with the digital interactive sign comprisestransmitting multimedia data to the interactive digital sign configuredfor display by the interactive digital sign.

Example 53 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 47-52, andwherein the multimedia data comprises at least one of: a digitalpicture, a digital movie, a graphical representation, text data, andaudio data.

Example 54 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 47-53, andwherein the multimedia comprises a digital avatar and further comprisinginteracting with the digital interactive sign over the communicationlink to cause the digital avatar to perform at least one action.

Example 55 includes the subject matter of any one of Examples 47-54, andwherein interacting with the digital interactive sign comprises playinga computer game using the mobile communication device and at least onedisplay of the digital interactive sign.

Example 56 includes a mobile communication device comprising aprocessor; and a memory having stored therein a plurality ofinstructions that, in response to being executed by the processor,results in the processor performing the method of any one of Examples47-55.

Example 57 includes one or more machine readable media comprising aplurality of instructions stored thereon that in response to beingexecuted result in a mobile communication device performing any one ofExamples 47-56.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An interactive digital sign for providinginformation to a viewer, the interactive digital sign comprising: adisplay; a sensor to generate sensor data indicative of a plurality ofcontext parameters of the viewer, wherein the plurality of contextparameters includes a presence of the viewer and at least one of: (i) aphysical characteristic of the viewer or (ii) a physical gestureperformed by the viewer; a viewer context determination module to detectthe presence of the viewer within a pre-defined range of the display asa function of the sensor data; a wireless communication module to detectthe presence of a mobile communication device carried by the viewer andestablish a communication link with the mobile communication device inresponse to detection of the presence of the mobile communicationdevice; and a user interaction module to: receive, using thecommunication module, user data transmitted by the mobile computingdevice, the user data comprising at least one of: user profile datadefining personal characteristics of a user of the mobile computingdevice, user preference data indicative of preferences of a user of themobile computing device, and shopping list data identifying a shoppinglist of purchasable items; and select information to be displayed on thedisplay as a function of (i) the presence of the viewer, (ii) the atleast one of the physical characteristic of the viewer and the physicalgesture performed by the viewer, and (iii) the user data transmitted bythe mobile computing device and to display the selected information onthe display, wherein the wireless communication module is further totransmit a digital coupon to the mobile communication device based onthe user data.
 2. The interactive digital sign of claim 1, wherein thesensor comprises a microphone.
 3. The interactive digital sign of claim1, wherein the information selected by the user interaction modulecomprises at least one of: an advertisement, a digital coupon, and adigital map.
 4. The interactive digital sign of claim 1, wherein theuser interaction module is to (i) select at least one of a digitaladvertisement and a digital coupon to be displayed on the display as afunction of the user data and (ii) display the selected advertisementand/or digital coupon on the display.
 5. The interactive digital sign ofclaim 1, wherein the user interaction module is to receive a request forinformation from the mobile communication device and transmit, inresponse to the request and using the communication module, informationto the mobile communication device using a markup-up language extensionto identify parameters of the information.
 6. The interactive digitalsign of claim 5, wherein the transmitted information includes at leastone of a mark-up language tag that identifies a location of theinteractive digital sign, a mark-up language tag that identifiesinformation related to a digital coupon, and a mark-up language tag thatidentifies an answer to the request.
 7. The interactive digital sign ofclaim 1, wherein: the display comprises a plurality of display screens,and the user interaction module is to allocate a first subset of displayscreens and display the selected information to the viewer on theallocated first subset of display screens.
 8. The interactive digitalsign of claim 7, wherein the user interaction module is to allocate asecond subset of display screens to another viewer and displayadditional information to the another viewer on the second subset ofdisplay screens.
 9. One or more non-transitory, machine readable storagemedia comprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that inresponse to being executed result in an interactive digital sign:receiving, on the interactive digital sign, sensor data from at leastone sensor of the interactive digital sign, the sensor data indicativeof a plurality of context parameters of a viewer of the interactivedigital sign, wherein the plurality of context parameters comprises apresence of the viewer and a physical characteristic of the viewer;detecting the presence of the viewer within a pre-defined range of adisplay of the interactive digital sign as a function of the sensordata; detecting the presence of a mobile communication device carried bythe viewer; establishing a communication link with the mobilecommunication device in response to detecting the presence of the mobilecommunication device; receiving user data from the mobile computingdevice, the user data comprising at least one of: user profile datadefining personal characteristics of a user of the mobile computingdevice, user preference data indicative of preferences of a user of themobile computing device, and shopping list data identifying a shoppinglist of purchasable items; selecting information to be displayed on theinteractive digital sign as a function of the presence of the viewer,the physical characteristic of the viewer, and the user data transmittedby the mobile computing device; displaying the selected information onthe display of the interactive digital sign in view of the viewer;transmitting a digital coupon to the mobile communication device basedon the user data.
 10. The one or more non-transitory, machine readablestorage media of claim 9, wherein each of the presence of the viewer andthe physical characteristic of the viewer are determined based on voicedata supplied by the viewer and received from a microphone of theinteractive digital sign.
 11. The one or more non-transitory, machinereadable storage media of claim 9, wherein the plurality of instructionsfurther result in the interactive digital sign identifying at least onephysical gesture performed by the viewer, and wherein selectinginformation to be displayed on the interactive digital sign comprisesselecting information to be displayed as a function of the presence ofthe viewer and the at least one physical gesture performed by theviewer.
 12. The one or more non-transitory, machine readable storagemedia of claim 9, wherein the plurality of instructions further resultin the interactive digital sign: receiving a request for informationfrom the mobile communication device; and transmitting, in response tothe request, the information to the mobile communication device over thecommunication link and using a markup-up language extension to identifyparameters of the information.
 13. The one or more non-transitory,machine readable storage media of claim 12, wherein transmitting theinformation comprises transmitting information including at least oneof: a mark-up language tag that identifies a location of the interactivedigital sign, a mark-up language tag that identifies information relatedto a digital coupon, and a mark-up language tag that identifies ananswer to the request.
 14. The one or more non-transitory, machinereadable storage media of claim 9, wherein the plurality of instructionsfurther result in the interactive digital sign: receiving a request fordirections from the mobile communication device; and displaying, inresponse to the request, directions on the display of the interactivedigital sign.
 15. A method for providing interactivity on a digitalsign, the method comprising: receiving, on the interactive digital sign,sensor data from at least one sensor of the interactive digital sign,the sensor data indicative of a plurality of context parameters of aviewer of the interactive digital sign, wherein the plurality of contextparameters comprises a presence of the viewer and a physicalcharacteristic of the viewer; detecting the presence of the viewerwithin a pre-defined range of a display of the interactive digital signas a function of the sensor data; detecting the presence of a mobilecommunication device carried by the viewer; establishing a communicationlink with the mobile communication device in response to detecting thepresence of the mobile communication device; receiving user data fromthe mobile computing device, the user data comprising at least one of:user profile data defining personal characteristics of a user of themobile computing device, user preference data indicative of preferencesof a user of the mobile computing device, and shopping list dataidentifying a shopping list of purchasable items; selecting informationto be displayed on the interactive digital sign as a function of thepresence of the viewer, the physical characteristic of the viewer, andthe user data transmitted by the mobile computing device; displaying theselected information on the display of the interactive digital sign inview of the viewer; transmitting a digital coupon to the mobilecommunication device based on the user data.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein each of the presence of the viewer and the physicalcharacteristic of the viewer are determined based on voice data suppliedby the viewer and received from a microphone of the interactive digitalsign.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving arequest for information from the mobile communication device; andtransmitting, in response to the request, the information to the mobilecommunication device over the communication link and using a markup-uplanguage extension to identify parameters of the information.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein transmitting the information comprisestransmitting information including at least one of: a mark-up languagetag that identifies a location of the interactive digital sign, amark-up language tag that identifies information related to a digitalcoupon, and a mark-up language tag that identifies an answer to therequest.